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The world of blogging is continually changing. Share 3 things you are essential tried and true practices for every blogger and 1-3 new trends or tools you’ve adapted recently or would like to in the future.
I know I’m probably middle-aged in the span of the average blogger, but I still feel like I’m learning too much all the time to have very much to share. I’ll give this a go though.
My biggest tip is: Stay true to yourself. Write about what interests you and read what interests you. This is your space to do whatever makes you happy. It’s a labor of love with a big time commitment. If you try to make others happy, you just won’t enjoy doing this. And be choosy about your books. When those first pitches start rolling in, it’s easy to get excited about a “free book!” and just say yes rather than objectively sitting back and evaluating whether it’s something you really want to read. You’ll enjoy yourself more if you’re doing what you want to do. If you don’t like a book, don’t feel pressured into saying you do. Some bloggers choose not to review books they don’t enjoy, and that’s fine. I go ahead and give my thoughts, but I try my best to really think about what turned me off and suggest a group of people that the book might appeal to instead. This is hard to do if it’s a book that you’ve received for review, because most of us do want to be nice, but in the long run your readers and even authors and publishers will respect you more for your honest opinion, whether positive or negative.
If you like the feeling of community we have here in book-bloggerland, you should think about joining the conversation on Twitter. There is so much going on there. Sure, it can turn into a big time-suck, but I’ve learned to turn my Twitter feed off when I have things I really need to get done. When you have the time to pop in, you can get a much better feel for who the people behind the blogs really are, and you can get an idea about what is exciting us right now. For example, if you just check in on my blog, you’ll see that I’m reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck and that’s all you know. If you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I think Cathy is a psycho (understatment) and that I’m enjoying the book right now. It’s a small thing, but it’s a more immediate and informal reaction.
I’m not a very trendy person, so I can’t speak to what might be the next “coolest” thing for us as book bloggers. I’ll leave that to the awesome trend-setting bloggers!
I’ve enjoyed Book Blogger Appreciation Week this week, and I just want to thank everyone who took the time to stop by. I especially want to thank my regular readers who let me know that someone is interested in what I have to say!
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s, my local independent bookstore located in downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site.
10 Comments
Where are you, because I've chatted with people from the phillipines, Australia, Europe etc on a mornings journey to work.
I enjoy Twitter but being in a completely different time zone I often feel like I am missing out.
Shelleyrae @ Book'd Out
Great post! Book blogging is a labor of love! And I'm so glad I signed onto Twitter. I have really been enjoying it. It's a great place to talk books!
I think twitter is almost a must as a blogger.
You make some great points, especially about staying true to yourself.
I'm not a horribly trendy person either, a few years ago my cousin bought a poncho because they were trendy that year but went out of style 6 months later; sometimes I wonder if its the same with "book blogging trends". Actually, it goes back to be honest with yourself.
A little off topic, but I noticed you're reading When You Are Engulfed in Flames. I love David Sedaris he is so funny, I hope you're enjoying it!
Good point about being choosy in picking books for review. I still need to jump on the Twitter bandwagon… soon, soon…
Soon after I started my blog, I realised that a majority of bloggers were from across the pond and there was a language difference.
I actually asked the question, should I use my own english or american english in case I offended when changing to my english in comments.
I was given the best advice, stay true to yourself.
I have had a great week catching up with everyone for BBAW. I am a follower anyway.
carol
I'm finding out how easy it is to get overwhelmed by review copies right now. I don't love it and plan to start accepting many fewer in the near future! I like your example of blog vs. Twitter in terms of getting to know you…Twitter is one of the things I hope to get better with soon!
So agree to be yourself. I try to write what interest me instead of what's trendy or fad. Being authentic is very important to establish loyal followers.
I like your first tip. To be true to ourselves!
As our blogs are reflect our personality, we all look out for different blogging tools. One should go for that which suits her/his blog. One should always keep the reader in mind. After all, we all want readers on our blog. And comments!
Here is my post:
BBAW 2011: Readers